Site Mobile Navigation

Move Over, Big Bird: A New Blue Dog's in Town

For the latest generation of toddler television watchers, Big Bird and Barney are no longer the biggest celebrities on the playground. They have a scrappy new rival, in the shape of a bright blue computer-generated dog named Blue.

''Blue's Clues,'' an educational show for preschoolers on Nickelodeon, has been consistently drawing more viewers each week than PBS's ''Sesame Street,'' the original and for many years the only educational show for preschoolers, and in recent months it has also begun to outdraw ''Barney and Friends,'' the toddlers' favorite.

It is the first time a show outside the Public Broadcasting Service's sheltered orbit has broken through and appealed to parents of preschoolers in such large numbers.

Big Bird, Elmo and their ''Sesame Street'' co-stars are still popular, as is that giant purple dinosaur. But both shows' ratings have been declining for the last year and a half, since the arrival of Blue, a perky puppy who, with Steve, her master, engages children in helping to play games and solve puzzles.

In part, this is because younger parents trust Nickelodeon, the cable network for children. Also children respond to the visual boldness and the responsive, gentle characters of ''Blue's Clues.''

In October, the last month for which comparative ratings are available, ''Blue's Clues'' attracted more 2- to 5-year-old viewers weekly than did ''Barney'' or ''Sesame Street,'' both on public television, even though, as a cable network, Nickelodeon reaches only about 70 percent of American homes.

All told, about 4.7 million children each week watched ''Blue's Clues,'' which is shown twice daily, at 9:30 A.M. and 12:30 P.M., compared with 4.4 million for ''Barney,'' 4 million for ''Arthur'' and 3.7 million for ''Sesame Street.'' The PBS shows appear at different times of the day in different regions, sometimes more than once a day, so direct ratings comparisons are complicated. But it is clear that Blue is surging.

''We're seeing a paradigm shift, where people realize that it's not only on public television that you can find quality children's programming,'' said Alice Cahn, director for children's programming at PBS. She just signed another four-year contract with Children's Television Workshop, producers of ''Sesame Street,'' which is now in its 29th season. ''I also think we have a generation of parents now who grew up with a comfortable feeling about television that our parents didn't have, and frankly that I didn't have raising mine,'' said Ms. Cahn, whose child is now 18. ''They have a willingness to shop around on television and see what's there.''

She also admires ''Blue's Clues,'' as does Peggy Charren, the children's programming activist, as long as it continues to be uninterrupted by commercials. (Nickelodeon carries commercials, but in its preschool block they appear only between shows.)

''Little children deserve choices just like big children do,'' said Ms. Charren. ''For a long time, the preschool audience had only two television programs, and it was almost like one word: 'Sesame-Street-and-Mr. Rogers.' It's good to have more good shows available.''

Both Ms. Charren and Ms. Cahn pointed out that ''Sesame Street'' paved the way for commercial competitors by proving that preschool shows could generate commercial profits with spinoff products like toys, books, videos and brand-name merchandise like Big Bird booster seats or Grover toothpaste.

''Now 'Blue's Clues' is considered the hot new kid on the block,'' said Martin Brochstein, executive editor of The Licensing Letter, a publication covering the licensing business. ''Whether it can achieve 'Sesame Street' status as a year-in-year-out evergreen remains to be seen.''

PBS is bringing another hot prospect into the marketplace next month, a British import called ''Teletubbies,'' specifically designed for 1- and 2-year-olds who are just learning to speak.

In a tribute to ''Sesame Street,'' ''Blue's Clues'' has succeeded partly by using the 29-year-old show's fundamental methodology -- extensive research with both preschool education experts and children themselves, blended into appealing characters and funny situations.

Bold, brightly colored cutout characters and backgrounds made from scraps of cloth, paper, buttons and other familiar materials are scanned into computers and then animated. Steve, Blue's master, is the lone human character.

''This is really the first television show for the post-television generation,'' said Herb Scannell, president of Nickelodeon. ''It's different from all of TV, not just all kids' shows. And it's interactive, which appeals to many younger parents.''

He does not mean interactive in the manner of computer games, but in the sense that Blue's games require the participation of her viewers. Steve pretends to hear the viewers as they call out the name of an object that is a clue left for Steve by Blue, and help him find it.

Also, the same episode is repeated each day all week (although the 12:30 P.M. show is different from the 9:30 A.M. one), so that all toddlers, whatever their developmental level or learning pace, will feel they've mastered the game by week's end.

''I think 'Sesame Street' is still the gold standard for preschool TV,'' Mr. Scannell said. ''But in my 10 years here, 'Blue's Clues' is one of the shows I'm most proud of, if not the most proud of.''

Ms. Cahn said ''Sesame Street'' had been adapting to changing times, changing the set, adding new settings like a park and making children into more important characters.

''Ratings are only one measure we use, because you want to put on a program children choose to watch,'' she said. ''But there are other measures too: Are they going to a library and taking out a book? If they have access to a computer, are they logging on and doing activities based on what they saw? Are they singing the songs, playing the games, writing their own stories? Where public television continues to be unique is those measures count as much as ratings.''